Think Bermuda is all about tourists riding around on scooters? Think again. It’s decidedly more hip than you may realize. The island is full of history, beauty and, yes, adventure
1 Bermuda has more shipwrecks per square mile than anywhere else in the world. It is one of the few places where divers can explore wrecks dating from the 1600s until as recent as 1997. A Confederate blockade-runner, Mary Celestia, sank there in 1864. Bermuda recently made international headlines after a cache of previously unknown treasures—including still-sealed wine and perfume—was uncovered. The historic perfume found was meticulously recreated by Lili of Bermuda and a limited edition is being sold to the public.
2 Bermuda is not a lone island, it’s made up of 181 islands, islets and rocks. Most are uninhabitable, but eight are linked by bridges and causeways forming the Bermuda we know. Though it’s only twenty square miles, Bermuda has thirty-four of what some call the world’s most beautiful beaches.
3 Cliff jumping is one of the most popular sports on the island. Climbing junkies rave about the deep-water solo diving in Bermuda. What exactly is deep-water soloing? We’re glad you asked. It’s a form of solo rock climbing, practiced on sea cliffs at high tide where the climber’s only protection is the water below. If you possess nerves of steel, go cliff jumping at Admiralty House Park, which was recently named one of Men’s Journal’s “20 Most Adventurous Beaches.”
4 Golf first came to Bermuda in the late 1800s when British Army officers brought their clubs to the island. Today, Bermuda boasts the highest concentration of golf courses in the world.
5 Though it’s often included in the list of Caribbean islands, Bermuda is actually in the Atlantic Ocean directly east of Charleston, South Carolina. In fact, most of the limestone in Charleston comes from Bermuda.
6 The thirty-fifth America’s Cup will be hosted on the Great Sound in June of 2017. Oracle Team USA has set up its home base there and is currently on the water training to defend the cup.
7 St. George Bermuda, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town was named after the legendary dragon slayer and patron saint of England, St. George. Today about 65 percent of the buildings in the town are pre-1900. It is the oldest continuously inhabited town of English origin in the New World.
8 In June 1980, John Lennon docked his yacht in Bermuda. Not having written a song in almost five years, he sailed from Rhode Island looking for inspiration. During his almost two-year stay, he wrote twenty-two songs including those that would make up his final masterpiece, Double Fantasy. The title was borrowed from a flower he saw at the Bermuda Botanical Gardens.
9 The iconic Bermuda shorts were originally borrowed in the early twentieth century from the British military’s uniform for hot climes.
10 Humpback whales pass Bermuda in the spring on their way to northern feeding grounds. Lucky observers can see them breach, fin slap, wave their tails, and sometimes do the back float.